OsebergCartWomanFinal PDF

O s e b e r g
C a r t W o m a n – C . E . 8 0 0
Prepared for: 9th Annual Golden Seamstress Competition
Prepared by: The Beautiful Goat Sewers Team -‐ Gwynnyd -‐ Team Leader
Date: March 5 -‐6, 2010

The Oseberg Cart Woman – Norway, circa 800 C.E.

9th Annual Golden Seamstress Competition, March 5-‐ 6, 2010
The Beautiful Goat Sewers – Team Leader – Baroness Gwynnyd
Team Members:
Mistress Rhonwen, Mistress GraziaGeralda, Mistress Catherine-‐Aimée, Lady Catherine of Deva
(note to judges: Grace and Aimee are Pelicans)

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Case for the Viking Woman’s “Pleated Back Cape” ...............................................3
Who is this woman and what is she wearing? ............................................................................ 3
Cultural Background.............................................................................................................................3
Where do the source images come from?......................................................................................4
Can we know what these women wore?.........................................................................................4
Reconstructions......................................................................................................................................8
Could the carver of the cart have been unequal to the challenge of representative
carving? .................................................................................................................................................. 10
Is it a skirt?............................................................................................................................................ 10
The reconstruction of the outfit................................................................................................................... 11
On color and fabric ............................................................................................................................. 13
Ankle boots ........................................................................................................................................... 15
Nålebinded socks ................................................................................................................................ 17
Leg coverings........................................................................................................................................ 18
Waist tie for leggings ......................................................................................................................... 19
Serk (or tunic)...................................................................................................................................... 20
Braid over seams on the serk.......................................................................................................... 21
Card woven bands............................................................................................................................... 22
Pleated “back cape”............................................................................................................................ 23
Front panel with Embroidery and Applique.............................................................................. 24
Jewelry – Brooches and Necklaces ................................................................................................ 25
Belt........................................................................................................................................................... 26
Head wrap ............................................................................................................................................. 27
Appendix 1 – The Woad Dying Process...................................................................................................... 28
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ................. 34
Cultural Background.......................................................................................................................... 34
Design and Construction .................................................................................................................. 35

Page 2 of 37

1
Introduction: The Case for the Viking Woman’s “Pleated Back Cape”
Who is this woman and what is she wearing?

The dilemma for the person who wishes to reconstruct what an
upper class Viking woman from the early 9th Century would wear is:
are the few surviving pictorial images from the Viking Age wearing
representational dress? Is there any evidence that “real people”
were depicted in art rather than having it focus strictly on
supernatural personages, who might be wearing clothing not seen in
actual use? Within stylistic conventions, there is still an underlying
core of representational images; of things and people that the artists
used as models. If we find the real people beneath the images, we can interpret these images into
wearable clothing.
Cultural Background
Before Christianity, the Norse people did not draw strict dividing lines between the mundane and
the supernatural.2 The kennings of their language, the items they included in their graves, and even
the structures of their elaborate boat burials, created a “never ending story based upon items
forming and reforming compounds with each other.”3 This fluidity of concept did not survive into
the Christian era with its more rigidly defined areas of human and supernatural.4
The religion of the Norse area in the Viking Age, especially that concerned with the cult of Ó∂inn
and the ritual, called sei∂r, of acquiring knowledge and control of both the natural and supernatural
world, can be described as form of shamanism.5 “In addition to Ó∂inn himself, there are also a
great many human figures who are represented as performing sei∂r, of whom the best known are
the völur (sing. völva) women skilled in clairvoyance and the prediction of future events.”6 There
are also fifteen other terms for female shamans or sorcerers used in the Elder Edda and from other
sources.7 Most of these terms have been interpreted as having negative or evil connotations, but
they also date to the 13th Century and the Christian era when the practitioners of sei∂r were
probably discredited and no longer part of the everyday culture.8

1 Oseberg Cart in Ewing, Thor, Viking Clothing, pg 46
2 Gerds, Marcus, Old Norse Religion in Long Term Perspective: Origins, Changes and Interactions, “Scandinavian Burial Rites
on the Southern Baltic Coast: Boat Graves in Cemeteries of Early Medieval Trading Places”, pg 157, Nordic Academic Press
(December 1, 2006), ISBN-‐13: 978-‐9189116818
3 Herschend, Frands, “Ship Grave Hall Passage – the Oseberg monument as compound meaning”: Uppsala University, pg.
150; http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/medieval/saga/pdf/142-‐herschend.pdf
4 ibid
5 Price, Neil, “The Archaeology of Sei∂r:Circumpolar Traditions in Viking Pre-‐Christian Religion”: ISSN 1519-‐9053, pg
110;http://www.brathair.com/revista/numeros/04.02.2004/archaeology_seidr.pdf
6 ibid, pg 111
7 ibid, pg 120

8 ibid, pg 114
It is interesting to note that the standard description of a “valkyrie” from the encyclopedia says that
a valkyrie can be either totally supernatural or a woman with some supernatural powers.9 In the
earlier sagas they are often described as being the daughters of kings.10 Gradually their function
merged with that of the norns, fates, and it is only in Christian times that valkyries seem to lose all
connections to humans and become totally demonic.11
In general, then, in the Viking Age there existed a class of respected, high-‐status women, who may
or may not have been considered royal, and who performed many societal functions, including
everything from divination, to cursing, to giving good luck, to murder, to intercession with the gods,
to providing protection from enemy sorcerers.12
Therefore, it is reasonable to project that images carved at the time would be depicted as wearing
clothing consistent at some level with 9th century local cultural norms.
Where do the source images come from?

There are very few surviving images of women; less than a dozen are commonly reproduced, and
there are only a few more available with further research.
They are found carved on runestones, as small silver amulets, in the elaborate woodcarving on a
wagon found in a burial site in Oseberg, Norway on tapestry fragments, some also found in the ship
grave at Oseberg, and elsewhere.
In these contexts they have historically been identified as being valkyries welcoming warriors to
Valhalla, or goddesses, usually Freya or Frigg.13
Can we know what these women wore?

Margaret Clunies Ross asserts in her paper “Stylistic and generic definers of the Old Norse skaldic
ekphrasis:”14
We know, from the material remains in the Oseberg burial complex of c. 834,6 that local
elites in the Oslo fjord area were using certain kinds of figural decoration in the early ninth
century, as exemplified by the decoration of wooden objects, especially the waggon and,

9 Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
Valkyrie
In Germanic religion, any of a group of maidens sent by Odin to select slain warriors worthy of a place in Valhalla. …
According to various myths, they were either purely supernatural or human with supernatural powers;
10 Völundarkviða, "they were valkyries". Two, daughters of King Hlödvér, … the third, daughter of Kjárr of Valland,
also in Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, this valkyrie is detailed later in a prose narrative as Sváva, king Eylimi's daughter
also Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, The narrative says that Sigrún, daughter of King Högni, is "a valkyrie and rode through
air and sea"
http://www.answers.com/topic/valkyrie
11 MacLeod, Mindy; Mees, Bernard (2006). Runic Amulets and Magic Objects. Boydell Press. ISBN 1-‐84383-‐205-‐4
12 ibid, pg 121
13 op cit, Britannica Concise Encyclopedia on-‐line

14Ross, Margaret Clunies, ‘Stylistic and generic definers of the Old Norse skaldic ekphrasis”;
https://www.dur.ac.uk/medieval.www/sagaconf/cluniesrossekphrasis.pdf
Page 4 of 37

more particularly, the textiles found in the burial chamber .The processional and group
scenes depicted on the Oseberg tapestry friezes have a general resemblance… to certain
kinds of figural subject depicted in skaldic ekphrasis.15

That is, the carvings tell the same kind of stories that are told in the sagas and are peopled by the
same characters, who might very well have been present at the recitation. Exphrasis, one of the
techniques of highly respected skalds, was to give an extempore praise poem of an object in the
Hall, using kennings and other symbolic word pictures, to describe the existing object or person in
supernatural and poetic terms.16

She also argues that the sagas’ stylized verbal descriptions are of familiar pictorial subjects of
specific legend or myths that would have been known and recognized by the hearers.17
Looking more closely at the surviving pictorial

record, there is, left, a reconstruction of the
tapestry found in the Oseberg burial that shows a
procession, presumably similar to the one that
took place with the ship burial, that also has
parallels in the sagas, especially with Úlfr’s verses
on Baldr’s funeral, and on the Gotland stones.18
19

There are several small statuettes in silver of a “female figure” usually identified as a valkyrie “but
they may equally depict völur or any number of female supernatural beings.”20 The name “Valkyrie
figures” is given to the whole class of small silver amulets in the form of females found during the
Viking era21, but this is a modern designation and does not necessarily mean they were considered
to be valkyries at the time they were incurrent usage.

15 ibid, pg 2
16 ibid, pg 5
“The verses describe the richly ornamented axe, which does not appear to have figural images on it (in this respect comparable to
Egils saga’s account of the shield Einarr skálaglamm is said to have given him). Perhaps to compensate for the absence of
images, Einarr develops a strong narrative continuity between verses through his use of elaborately varied kennings for gold
which refer to a single myth, that of the goddess Freyja’s weeping tears of gold for her long-absent husband Óðr (probably
Óðinn).”
17 ibid, page 1-‐2
18 ibid, pg 8 ,
19 Oseberg tapestry reconstruction, http://www.gelfling.dds.nl/viking women.html

20 op cit, Price, pg 118
21 http://www.answers.com/topic/valkyrie
Page 5 of 37

Of course, there are also other theories. In Viking Rus: studies on the
presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, Wladyslaw Duczko insists that
“there is nothing that could indicate that these female figures had anything to
do with the demonic warrior women. They obviously show women from the
upper layers of Norse society, while wearing their best dresses during
important events. … Small figures of such women were badges of social
identity.”22
23

Many carved runestones show a female figure, with a pleated cape of some kind
under a plain cape, handing a drinking horn to a male figure as he is welcomed into Valhalla.
Sometimes the horn is being handed to an Ó∂inn figure riding a multi-‐legged steed, and sometimes
it is to a man on a normal horse.
24 25

There is a female figure as part of an elaborate carving on the wooden side panel of a cart found in
the spectacular ship grave at Oseberg. The woman is intervening in a battle scene, as she stops a
man on foot from knifing a man on horseback. This is very consistent with the activity of a völva.

26

22 Duczko, Wladyslaw; Viking Rus: studies on the presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, pg 108 –
http://books.google.com/books?id=hEawXSP4AVwC
23 Silver figurine-‐ Tuna, Sweden http://www.pvv.ntnu.no/~hmg/lrp/kostyme/viking/v-‐k-‐underkjole.html
24 Picture stone from Alskog, Gotlandl http://theodinmysteries.com/odin/

25 Runestone, http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_iUGdRXNkkIM/SjfjlwE5mHI/AAAAAAAAAEg/Aoa3S6mS7ew/s1600-‐
h/bild_broa_halla_a1.jpg
Page 6 of 37

The basic style the woman is wearing is one that was in use for a long time. There are gold foils,
called guldgubbar, sometimes found buried in with house foundations, that show the same basic
garments dating from the Merovingian period (6th to 8th Centuries).27 These, like the later Valkyrie
figurines, were struck from molds and existed in multiple copies. Many of the female forms are
enveloped in a cloak that is pleated all the way around. Notice the upraised, pointed chin on the
figure on the right that is also characteristic of the carving on the Oseberg cart figure.
28 29

Compare, below, the woman on the left with a similarly dressed female from the Oseberg tapestry.
Other than the appearance that the woma n on the left has her arm showing, and the woman from
the tapestry dress is long enough to hide her feet, the basic shapes look quite alike.
30 31

26 http://www.bownet.org/jvulgamore/vikings/more_pictures_of_the_cart.htm
27 Watt, Margrethe; Continuity for Centuries, “The Gold-‐Figure Foils (“Guldgubbar”) from Uppåkra”, pg 167;
http://www.uppakra.se/docs/uppakra10/U10_06.pdf
28 ibid; pg 189
29 ibid, pg 187
30 ibid, pg 196
31 http://www.gelfling.dds.nl/viking women.html

Page 7 of 37


Reconstructions
One of the most interesting points about the woman carved onto the Oseberg cart is that she is not
wearing an overcloak that hides the details of her upper body. But what, exactly, is she wearing?
Re-‐enactor overview sites such as “The Vikings: Saxon, Norman, Celtic and Viking Reenactments”32
casually throw out the information that “a floor length pleated train” was often an integral part of
the standard Viking woman’s outfit. However, while they give detailed drawings and suggestions on
how to make most of the other pieces of clothing, there are no clues as to the shaping of this train or
any suggestions on how to control the pleats.
SCA-‐specific sites are even less forthcoming. Mistress Thora’s (Carolyn Priest-‐Dorman) extremely
well respected and researched, “Viking Resources for the Re-‐enactor”33 focuses on reconstructions
from fragments recovered from inhumations and contains no mention of “back capes” or “floor-‐
length, pleated trains” at all.
One archaeologist, Annika Larsson, has recently (2008) proposed a trained reconstruction from
grave finds in Birka and Psov. Her reconstruction, oddly, is neither pleated nor hung from the
shoulders.34 With a shawl over the top it does bear a passing resemblance to the pictorial
representations35 but this reconstruction has other difficulties that make it problematical.36

Still, while nearly every pictorial representation of Viking women that
exists shows females figures in some form of trailing, probably pleated
garment, the SCA versions of Viking garb do not generally incorporate
them.
Some of this can be laid at the feet of what has
survived in graves. Even when textile remains are
found, the pieces are usually fragmentary and seldom
large enough to give a sense of what the garment they
are from looked like. Piecing together information
from many graves – sleeve cap from one find, hangerok37 seams from another,
etc. – there has emerged a consensus that does not include any pleated

32 http://www.vikingsonline.org.uk/resources/articles/dress.htm
33 http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikresource.html
34 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080227-‐viking-‐picture.html
35 Second picture from http://slumberland.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=2217
Site also contains much good discussion about difficulties with other parts of this reconstruction not applicable to this
argument.
36 The chief difficulty I see is that she claims the brooches were worn on the point of the breast. On other body types, such
as mine, that’s still at up at arm-‐pit level and not just above my waist, making it not a “skirt” as shown, and negating most
of her other claims for placement of the jewelry and shape of the fabric.
37 Hangerock
– Outer apron-like garment worn over ankle length wrap. http://paws.wcu.edu/bgastle/students/Gardner-Peace-
Weaver-Thesis.pdf
Page 8 of 37

garments, or has tiny pleats only on the serk or undertunic,38 or along the top of the hangerok
front.39
However, besides the pictorial, there is some evidence for a backcloth.
In Thor Ewing’s book on Viking Clothing, he cites a find from Birka grave Bj 824 where “these silver
braids were clearly used as trim for a backcloth, suspended from the oval brooches.”40

Flemming Bau always argued that some of the double loops found on the brooches might suspend a
backcloth or train.41
Ewing suggests that the backcloth might be as simple as a half-‐
circle “slae∂r pushed back over the shoulders and hanging in
folds.”42 That arrangement looks like this:43

This does not allow for the crisp arrangement of pleats at the
sides and curving under the front panel as is shown on the
Oseberg cart carving. (see illustration at the start of the
article) Even belted, it is difficult to impossible to make pleats
that hang forward (lapping under the front garment panel)
with this arrangement. Since the basic style survived for the
duration of the Viking period and across a variety of places, the
pushed-‐back half-‐circle may be what is worn under some of
the varieties of this style, but the Oseberg cart carving shows
something different.

38 “underdress (or "serk" as the Viking poem Rígsþula seems to call it)” Hilde Thunem
http://www.pvv.ntnu.no/~hmg/lrp/kostyme/viking/v-‐k-‐underkjole.html
39 op cit, Ewing, pg 32, also color plate 4
40 ibid, pg 38
41 ibid, pg 31
42 ibid, pg 50
43 Author in first version of backcloth, February 2008.
Page 9 of 37

Could the carver of the cart have been unequal to the challenge of representative
carving?
While some of the elements are clearly stylistic conventions – the upraised and pointed chin, for
example – other portions of the cart are carved with individual attention to detail. The man on the
back panel has been identified as treading water, partly due to the odd position of his legs, partly by
the details of his clothing, which are carved as soft, transparent and sticking to his body and partly
by the subtle differences between the “serpent” form and the “many-‐headed hydra” form of the
creatures he is fighting.44

The man shown here, as well as the men carved on the panel with the female figure, are clearly
wearing what is commonly interpreted as typical men’s garments as determined from inhumation
finds45. There is no reason why pleats that are carved as crisp, neat and lying under a front panel
would not have been seen on real women in that arrangement.
Is it a skirt?
There is some evidence for skirts.
There is a runestone in Garde Bote, Sweden that shows a row of hanged women who, according to
Ewing are wearing skirts.46

44 Ettlinger, Ellen; “The Mythological Relief of the Oseberg Wagon found in Southern Norway,” Folklore, Vol 67, No 1
(1976), pg 82. http://www.jstor.org.stable/1259502

45 Priest-‐Dorman, Caroline, “An Archaeological Guide to Viking Men's Clothing”; 1993,
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/mensgarb.html
46 op cit, Ewing, pg 49
Page 10 of 37

However, the picture is sketchy and might as easily show belted backcloths or capes, as is shown
more clearly on the Oseberg cart carving.
Another image of a woman who might be

wearing a belted skirt shows up on the Oseberg
tapestries. The staff with a ball that she carries is
indicative of her position as one of the volur.47
The image, on the left, has a belt, but there is no
evidence of bunching around the waist, which
would indicate pleated fabric behind the belt; the
line is smooth.
The image on the right, which Ewing identifies as

a skirt,48 has a “waistline” that lies well below the
hips and may be simply the decorated bottom
edge of a short hangerok or serk.
The völur, who are the likeliest women to be pictured, were not a homogenous group. They had
many, different, specialized functions in Viking Age society49. As far as can be ascertained, there is
no reason to believe that they all dressed alike.
The reconstruction of the outfit

The high-‐status woman on the cart is dressed in a war-‐season, presumably summer, outfit. It is
short enough and belted to allow for ease of movement.
The outfit consists of the following pieces. Each piece has its own section following this overview,
and more information on how these choices were made can be found in the research binders.
1. The wool and linen for the cape, serk and the leggings was dyed blue in a shade obtainable
by using woad. There is evidence that blue cloth was commonly worn in the Viking period,
especially in Norway.

48 op cit, Ewing, pg 48
Page 11 of 37

2. Ankle high boots. Intact boots of this type were found in the Oseberg cart. They have been
reproduced for this outfit, partly on site.
3. Felted wool boot liners – felted on-‐site
4. Socks – are implied under the boots. Naalbinded socks were made out of wool for this
project, mostly in advance.
5. Leg coverings -‐ while bare legs or knee-‐to-‐thigh high socks or leg wraps are also a
possibility, the model is sensitive to wool against her skin and so dyed woven linen leggings,
for which there is also some archeological evidence, were made on site.
6. Waist tie – a fingerloop cord braided on site is used to gather the waist of the leggings.
7. Serk – the common underdress is called a serk. For this project a knee length serk using the
Eura pattern was made on site out of hand-‐dyed linen.
8. Finger loop woven silk braid covers the underarm seams of the serk. Mostly woven in
advance.
9. Card woven, linen wrist bands bind the lower edge of the sleeves of the serk. These were
mostly woven in advance.
10. Pleated “back cape” – the women on the cart is wearing a garment in the back that clearly
pleats below the waist and hangs to just above the ankle behind the front apron. Fabric used
is a 100% wool, chevron-‐weave, originally light grey and overdyed with woad-‐blue dye.
Cape made on site, wool dyed in advance.
11. Card woven upper edge binding in wool on the cape was mostly woven in advance.
12. Front panel – there is a flat, mid-‐calf-‐length piece of the same fabric as the cape on the front
of the outfit. A band of decoration was embroidered and appliquéd on this in silk on-‐site.
13. Brooches – purchased, oval, brass brooches pin the back cape to the front apron.
14. Necklaces -‐ at least two necklaces hang from the brooches. One of the necklaces used with
this outfit was made from antique glass beads – Russian 10th to12th century – and semi-‐
precious stones in advance. The other, from gold-‐filled beads, glass beads, and semi-‐
precious stones was constructed on-‐site.
15. Belt – the cape and apron are constricted at the waist by a heavily textured belt. The belt
was braided on site from a combination of purchased, natural dyed leather lacing in red and
black and hand-‐spun and plied yellow wool.
16. Head wrap – a pleated linen head covering for the model’s hair worn in a bun or braid
underneath was made on site.

Page 12 of 37

On color and fabric

When reading the sagas, characters are sometimes referred to as i litklæðum; wearing
“colored clothing”.50 Undyed cloth would certainly have been more common, and it has
been suggested that wearing dyed clothing was not only an indicator of the wealth of the
character, but also of the person’s intensity of purpose.51 When Valla-‐Ljótr sets out
determined on vengeance, he doffs his everyday svartr, black, kirtle and puts on his good
one dyed blár, blue, to mark the ritual significance of the act. It is not mere killing he is set
on, but a deliberate murder for a specific purpose.52
Although many colors could be obtained, the great preponderance of colored cloth in
Scandinavia in this period was dyed blue.53 In some Irish writings of the time, the invading
Vikings are called gormglas, which means “blue-‐green.54” Blue pigment, indigotin or indigo,
can be obtained from woad (Isatis tinctorium), a plant that grows easily in Scandinavia and
woad leaves were found locked in a chest in the Oseberg burial.55
In reconstructing the Oseberg cart woman’s dress, therefore, the base color of the wool
pleated cape is an indigotin blue that could have been obtained from woad.56 The linen serk
is a lighter shade of the same color, because linen does not achieve the same intensity of
color using natural dyes.
The trim colors are red, blue, and yellow. True red, or scarlet, could be obtained from
kermes, but would have been imported into Scandinavia, either as a dye or on pre-‐dyed
fabric or thread.57 Yellow could be obtained from several plants, including a still
unidentified one called “Yellow X.”58
Silk thread dyed in red and yellow, which would have been imported, is used for the braid
that trims the seams of the serk and for the embroidery motifs on the front panel. Silk
treads were often used for embroidery, and an example was found in the Oseberg burial.59

50 Ewing, Thor, “‘í litklæðum’ – Coloured Clothes in Medieval Scandinavian Literature and Archaeology”; pg 1,
http://www.dur.ac.uk/medieval.www/sagaconf/ewing.htm -‐ 1
51 ibid, pg. 4
52 ibid, pg 4
53 ibid. pg 4
54 ibid. pg 2
55 “History of Woad;” http://www.woad.org.uk/html/europe.html
56 The team attempted to dye the fabric using woad. For a discussion of the attempt, see the accompanying
document on “dyeing.”

57 Priest-‐Dorman, Carolyn, “Colors, Dyestuffs, and Mordants of the Viking Age: An Introduction”; 1999,
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikdyes.html
58 ibid.
59 Ingstad, Anne Stein, “The textiles in the Oseberg ship”;
http://www.forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/Oseberg/textiles/TEXTILE.HTM
Page 13 of 37

Woad dye

An attempt was made to dye the wool and linen fabric for the project using woad as a
natural dye. Obtaining sufficient amounts of Isatis tinctorium in winter proved
interesting.60 After much research it was discovered that plants in the indigo family,
including Isatis tinctorium (woad) and Polygonum tinctorium (dyer’s knotweed or Japanese
indigo) are used in traditional Chinese medicine as astringents, antibacterials, and for
stomach and liver complaints. In Chinese herbals the plants are called Da Qing Ye.61

While two test runs of the Da Qing Ye/woad yielded good results, scaling up the process to
handle several yards of 60” wide wool failed to obtain results.

Full details of the processes followed and the results obtained are attached as an appendix.

The fabric was, reluctantly, dyed using commercial dyes to the desired blue shades. The
woad samples are slightly more green-‐blue, but the final colors on the fabric used are in the
right range of tint and hue to have been obtained from woad.

60 At one Chinese herb store, the proprietress initially refused to sell me a pound of Da Qing Ye for a test run,
repeatedly assuring me it was “Too much! Too much not good for you!” When I finally convinced her that I
intended to use the plant as a dye and not a medicine, she shook her head at the follies of Americans and sold it
to me.
61 http://www.1stchineseherbs.com/da_qing_ye.html
Common Name: Indigo or Isatis Leaves

Botanical Name: Isatis Tinctoria Folium
Pin Yin Name: Da Qing Ye
Actions: immunostimulant, antibacterial, antiviral
I highly recommend the service obtained from 1st Chinese Herbs. They were extremely helpful.
Page 14 of 37


Ankle boots

Six shoes were found in the Oseberg ship burial. This pair is thought to belong to the older
of the two women in the burial.

62

This has been reconstructed by I. Marc Carlson63 as

The pattern was blown up to size, and fitted to the model’s feet by Mistress Grazia. The
leather chosen is a dark purple-‐black cow-‐hide. It is sewn using stabbing or stitching64 with
waxed, black linen thread. For stability on modern floors, the sole was sewn on rough side
out

62 http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1826974.ece?service=bildeviser&nr=1&felt=brodtekst
63Carlson, I. Mark,: Footwear of the Middle Ages -‐ Historical Shoe Designs/Number 50, . Copyright 1996;
http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-‐carlson/shoe/SHOES/SHOE50.HTM
64 ibid. The hole goes in one side and comes out the other. Note that this is "stabbing" if done with a straight awl,
and "stitching" if done with either a straight or curved awl. http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-‐
carlson/shoe/STITCH.HTM
Page 15 of 37

Felted wool boot liners

For warmth and comfort, shoes and boots were often stuffed with insulating materials,
often straw or wool. Wool, which has the property of keeping things warm even if wet65 and
which felts naturally when walked on, is still used as a preferred boot liner by winter
sportsmen.66

The liners will be felted on site using a hot water felting method. Wool fiber laid out in
crossed layers, with hot water, soap, and agitation will quickly felt. Dried, these will be cut
to shape and inserted into the boots.67

65 Flinn, David, “Staying Warm When It's Cold and Wet”, Alpine Journal.org, 2010,
http://www.alpinejournal.org/campfire/skiing-‐stories/9-‐staying-‐warm-‐when-‐its-‐cold-‐and-‐wet
66 http://www.ewe2you.com/bootlnrs.html
67 http://www.gfwsheep.com/felting/felt.html
Page 16 of 37

Nålebinded socks
Nålebinding is a thread-‐interlacing technique known from several examples around the
Scandinavian area.68 Short pieces of yarn are threaded onto a blunt needle, twisted and
woven into patterns.
The socks were made in medium-‐weight, single ply wool in a natural color. Single-‐ply wool
was chosen because it makes it easy to felt the ends of the threads together eliminating the
need for knots or weaving in the ends of the many threads needed.
The stitch used is called “Oslo” by Larry Schmitt, in Nordland's notation it is 4[12]. Hansen's
notation calls this stitch UO/UOO F1.69 According to Carolyn Priest-‐Dorman, it is a
commonly occurring stitch in Viking finds, though the finds are limited to mittens.70 Since
few shoe-‐liners or socks have ever been found, the current socks/shoe-‐liners were made
with a stitch that was known to be used.
The socks were constructed using techniques published by Shelagh Lewins, using “heel type
E” based on “traditional Scandinavian methods”. “Heel Type C”, based on observations of
the Jorvik sock,71 which is one of the only surviving, nearly complete socks from the period,
was used for a prototype (unfelted and felted below), but proved unsatisfactory because of
the low profile. Under ankle-‐high boots, a higher sock was preferred.
72

As each sock takes approximately three hours to nålebind, the socks were begun in advance
but finished and felted on-‐site using a hot water technique.

68 Priest-‐Dorman, Carolyn; Nålebinding Techniques in the Viking Age; 2001;
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/nalebind.html
69 ibid.
70 ibid.
71 Lewins, Shelagh; Nalbinding Socks: Methods of Construction; 2004,
http://www.shelaghlewins.com/reenactment/naalbinding/sock_construction.htm
72 http://www.yorkarchaeology.co.uk/secrets/vikindrs.htm
Page 17 of 37

Leg coverings

There is no archeological evidence as to what lower limb covering for women might have
been, and only a few fragmentary remains for men73. However, the lady on the cart carving
seems to show narrow coverings of some kind on the legs and for comfort it was thought
desirable. Therefore, leggings were made of linen in a pattern with a crotch gusset formed
the same way as the underarm gusset in the serk: narrow towards the ankles and widening
at the to of the thighs. The pants were constructed with a drawstring at the waist.

73 op cit, Priest-‐Dorman, Carolyn, http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/mensgarb.html
Page 18 of 37

Waist tie for leggings

The tie was woven on-‐site from linen cord in a finger-‐loop braiding technique. The ideal
outcome is a round cord. What exact pattern is used will probably be determined on site
when it is made.
Page 19 of 37

Serk74 (or tunic)

Based on the grooves carved into the shoulders -‐the carver used that rounded groove
pattern on the top of every limb, including the animals –the sleeves are described as “loose,
linen” by Ewing.75 The pattern chosen is from a find in Eura, Finland, which gives a loose,
full shoulder and still a slightly shaped body.76
77
The crucial measurements for proper fit are taken across the bustline from the armscye to
armscye and from the point of the shoulder to the position of the underarm seam. The
layout shown works best with 60” wide fabric and measurements for a busty woman. The
actual cutting for the model is done on 30” wide fabric in longer yardage. The layout we
used gives three seams under each arm, rather than two under one and three under the
other as in the layout shown. Because textiles are preserved usually in small fragments, it is
nearly impossible to determine a “normal” width for fabric woven in the 9th Century,
therefore we used the most efficient layout that gave the measurements we needed.

The linen was originally bleached, but dyed, using commercial dyes, to approximate the
color of the test runs of woad dyed linen samples.

The serk is made to have the hem fall just below the knees.

74 op cit, Ewing, pg 57 “The term serkr, then, is possibly equivalent to Latin tunica.”
75Ibid, pg 57
76 Ancient Finnish Costume, http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/FTP_Files/Ancient_Finnish_Costumes.PDF
77 Atte Dragon, Mistress Barbara, Viking Costume-‐ Women, http://www.thule-‐italia.net/sitoinglese/Viking
Women.pdf
Page 20 of 37

Braid over seams on the serk

Carolyn Priest-‐Dorman states that “Seams were also decorated in some cases with narrow
braids or cords (about 1mm wide): the braids were sewn down on the outside of the
garment over the line of the seam.”78
The braids for the serk were finger-‐loop braided from red and yellow silk thread. The
thread would have been imported in period. The pattern used is a “five loop basic braid”
that makes a chevron pattern79. Due to the limitations of the style of braid with only one
worker, it was woven in pieces averaging about a yard long. These are stitched to the serk
using fine silk thread. A few braid pieces were done on site.

78 Dorman, Carolyn Priest; “Viking Tunic Construction”, 1997;
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/viktunic.html
79 Swales, Lois & Kuhn-‐Williams, Zoe; “Fingerloop Braids”, (website of “Compleat Anachronist” on the same
subject) http://fingerloop.org/patterns.html -‐ n13
Page 21 of 37

Card woven bands

The Oseberg burial contained at least two examples of card woven bands, including a wool
fragment and a loom warped with cards.
80 81

Two bands were woven for this project, using a geometric pattern. One in three shades of
fine plied wool in true blue, red and yellow, one in linen thread in natural, light yellow and
light blue. The wool braid edges the top of the pleated back cape and controls the pleats.
The linen band was applied to the cuffs and neckline of the serk for decoration.

80 Ingstad, Anne Stine, “The textiles in the Oseberg ship” [Illustration page 187. Tabletweaving as found in the
grave.]; http://www.forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/Oseberg/textiles/TEXTILE.HTM
81 ibid. [Fragment of woven braid. About double size. Water colour after drawing by Sofie Kraft.]
Page 22 of 37

Pleated “back cape”

The main difficulty in any pleated garment is controlling the pleats. The fabric chosen is a
fine wool, originally in a light grey but overdyed with blue82, woven in a chevron pattern.
Because it came in 60” width83, the cape consists of one full-‐width back panel, pleated
across the top at the shoulders with the pleats held in place by being sewn to card-‐woven
braid trim along the shoulder edge. Another full width of the fabric was cut in half along the
diagonal. The resulting triangular pieces were sewn, bias to selvage, along the sides of the
pleated panel84. The garment was then tried on, the pleats at the side arranged by hand, and
finally pressed into place.

82 The original plan called for woad dying the fabric, but was unable to be completed. See the dye section for
details. The wool was dyed with commercial indigotin based dye.
83 Had it come in narrower width, different design decisions might have been made.
84 Design suggested by Mistress Ellen Greenhand.
Page 23 of 37

Front panel with Embroidery and Applique

The front panel of the woman’s outfit is carved with deep crosshatchings that appear
nowhere else on the cart. What type of decoration or weave-‐type they represent is
unknowable. However, some decoration was thought desirable to show high status.
Needle embroidery was not a technique much practiced in the area85, though examples,
thought to be imported, were found in the Oseberg burial86. Three roundels of silk
embroidery with animal motifs are planned to be appliquéd onto the front panel. A “ring
chain” motif, embroidered in silk thread onto a silk ground, is appliquéd along the top edge
of the panel.
87

85 Priest-‐Dorman, Carolyn; “Viking Embroidery Stitches and Motifs,” 1997,
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikembroid.html
86 op cit, Ingstad, “The other embroidery is probably a plant motif executed in silk thread, mostly in stemstitch
that covers the entire surface. See ill on page 180, These embroideries are believed to be imported from the
British Isles.”
87 http://web.missouri.edu/~rls555/SCA/research/gokbkpk/gokbkpk.htm
Page 24 of 37

Jewelry – Brooches and Necklaces

The pleated back panel and the front panel are held together at the collarbone level by
brooches of brass. These are oval and show an interlaced wolf motif. These were purchased
from Master Ark many years ago.
The carving shows the woman wearing at least two necklaces, one long and one short
depending from the brooches. Beads from this period were made from glass, metal, horn,
bone, crystal, various minerals and gems, and even limestone.88 Typical shapes of Viking
era glass beads are:
89
In this reconstruction, one of the necklaces contains antique Russian beads that date to the
11th -‐12th century90 These were made into a necklace with the addition of semi-‐precious
stone beads with modern clasps on modern wire.
The other necklace was made on-‐site and strung on linen cord. The beads are glass, semi-‐
precious stones and metal. The beads were purchased.

88 Carlsson, Dan, “Viking Beads from Gotland and Sweden”; ArkeoDoc, 1997,
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8493824/VikingBeads
89 ibid.
90 Purchased at Pennsic with this unwritten provenance.
Page 25 of 37

Belt

Belt hardware is rarely found in female graves, but it is not unknown.91 However, looking at
the outfit being reconstructed, though the belt is carved with a raised and textured surface,
there is no buckle or strap end showing in the carving. The decision was made, therefore, to
make the belt out of leather and wool, which would leave, few, if any, traces in a burial site.
There is a saga reference to a woman, called a prophetess, probably a volva, wearing “a soft
belt.”92
The leather used for this project’s belt is vegetable-‐dyed red and black leather 3mm cording.
The options for the belt were deeper, more authentic color on round leather cording that
would be easier to braid, or, presumably, more authentic leather in 3 mm wide strips, but
which came in a very unsatisfactory red, and would be more difficult to braid. Due to the
time constraints of the contest, the more authentic color in the easier material was selected.
The wool used was taken from stock already on hand. It had previously been dyed yellow
with osage orange and hand spun. The resulting thread was plied twice to make a thicker,
four-‐ply cord the same diameter as the leather.
The difficulty of the braiding pattern will be decided on-‐site, and dependent on how quickly
the other pieces of the outfit are being completed.

91 Lucas, Rebecca, “Belts in Norse Female Graves;” 2009, http://www.medieval-‐baltic.us/vikbuckle.html
92 ibid. “Saga of Eric the Red” Thorbjorg the prophetess was described as wearing a soft belt and there (on it)
was a large purse of skin (Own translation, referring to Cleasby and Vigfusson, 1874). (Hon hafði um sik
hnjóskulinda, ok var þar á skjóðupungr mikill...) (Gordon and Tayler, 1956).
Page 26 of 37

Head wrap

Many of the female Viking images show a wrapped and tied head covering with ends long
enough to hang down behind.
93
The head-‐wrap is made from linen, in a triangle with long ends. It is “scrunched” to pleat it
and tied around the braid/bun at the nape of the neck.
Sprang bands may be incorporated into the hairstyle.

93 http://www.gelfling.dds.nl/viking women.html
Page 27 of 37

Appendix 1 – The Woad Dying Process

By Lady Catherine of Deva
Woad Dying Process

Woad is best picked fresh in the spring when new leaves contain the most pigment.
Unfortunately, not being prescient enough to have obtained and dyed the fabric in the
previous growing season, we could not use fresh woad for this project. Research told us that
dried leaves could also be used. Dried woad from European sources was beyond our
financial resources for this project so Isatis tinctorium in large quantities was purchased
through a Chinese source that uses the leaves as an herbal, and it is identified as Da Qing Ye.
They also sold a concentrate of woad leaves. We needed to verify that leaves and
concentrate had color in them so we did a test run.
1st Run – leaves (Carol, Grace and Cathy)
1. Using 4 oz leaves poured 1 gallon of boiling water over them
2. Let the leaves set for 1 hour – the liquid was a sherry color which is the color it
should be
3. The book “Color” said that the leaves should stay in when they are dried so we left
the leaves in the dye bath
4. During all of the following steps the dye bath needed to stay a constant temperature
of 120F
5. We then added 2 tablespoons of washing soda (we did not want to use urine as they
did in the middle ages) – the dye bath had to be alkaline (PH 9) – we had no test
strips so we guessed
6. Because we were using dried leaves – the book “Color” said not to do the step where
you whip air into the dye bath which changes the color of the dye bath to blue
7. We then added 1 oz of Rit color remover – the dye does not attach to cloth when it is
visible in the dye bath
8. The dye bath changed to a yellowish green color. This is the color that we needed, it
meant that all of the blue color has been removed
9. The dye bath was then let sit for 1 hour
10. When adding material to the dye bath you have to be careful because you do not
want to add air into the dye bath. This causes it oxidize and change the color to blue,
then it won’t attach to the cloth. So we carefully added a piece of roving to the dye
batch
11. We let the piece of roving sit in the dye batch for 10 minutes and then took it out. It
turned a beautiful dark blue.
12. We decided it was OK to add a sample of the wool cloth that was a grey herringbone.
We forgot to wet the cloth before we added it to the dye bath. We added a second
piece that we wetted. We left both pieces sit in the dye bath for 10 minutes.
Page 28 of 37

13. We pulled it out. It came out a green color. But it was very molted and leaves were
sticking to it. We rinsed the leaves off. But both pieces were not evenly dyed,
especially the one we did get wet first.
14. We then added a piece of linen to the dye bath that was going to be used for the
garment.
15. We let that sit for 15 minutes.
16. It came out a light green
17. After a few minutes both the wool cloth and linen cloth starting turning blue. The
wool was a darker blue and the line was beautiful light blue. As the cloth dried the
colors changed
This was a successful run but the cloth had the impression several leaves on it and we
wanted to try to see if the process worked as well or better with the leaves taken out.
2nd Run – concentrate (Carol, Grace and Cathy)
1. Using 2 tablespoons concentrate poured 1 gallon of boiling water over it
2. Let the dye bath set for 1 hour – the liquid was a sherry color, which is the color it
should be
3. We left the concentrate in the dye bath, there is no way we could take it out, as it
had dissolved in the water..
4. During all of the following steps the dye bath needed to stay a constant temperature
of 120F
5. We then added 2 tablespoons of washing soda – the dye bath had to be alkaline (PH
9) – we had no test strips so we guessed
7. The dye bath changed to a yellowish color. This is the color that we needed, it meant
that all of the blue color has been removed
then it won’t attach to the cloth. So we carefully added a piece of roving to the dye
batch
10. We let the piece of roving sit in the dye batch for 10 minutes and then took it out. It
stayed yellow. Unfortunately the roving was accidentally let slip down the drain, so
there was no way to test if the color was fast, and we had already discarded the dye
bath.
We did not get blue from the concentrate, so this was not a solution.
3rd Run – leaves, taken out (Carol, Aimee) following slightly different directions.
1. Added 4 ounces of leaves to 1.5 gallons boiling water.
Page 29 of 37

2. Immediately reduced the temperature to 120 degrees by the addition of .5 gal cold
water.
3. Let the leaves set for 1 hour – the liquid was a sherry color which is the color it
should be
4. The leaves were strained out of the dye bath
5. During all of the following steps the dye bath was kept at a constant temperature of
120F in an electric roasting pan.
6. We then added 2 tablespoons of washing soda (we did not want to use urine like
they did in the middle ages) – the dye bath had to be alkaline (PH 9) – we had test
strips and tested it. Ph was proper.
7. Tried whipping the dye batch to oxidize it and get the blue color. The blue color
never did come out. The “color” book said with dried leaves you skip this step. But
we had to prove it out.
8. We then added 1 oz of Rit color remover
9. The dye bath changed to a yellowish green color. This is the color that we needed, it
meant that all of the blue color has been removed
11. We carefully added a piece of Woolite washed, and still wet gray wool to the dye
batch
12. We let the piece of wool sit in the dye batch for 10 minutes and then took it out. It
turned a beautiful turquoise blue.
13. As the wool set the color changed
14. We then added a piece of linen to the dye bath that was going to be used for the
garment. We also added the previously splotchy dyed piece of linen to overdye it.
15. We let that sit for an hour.
16. It came out a light green
17. After a few minutes linen cloth starting turning a light blue. Some of the splotches
from the previous attempt had evened out. There was a patch that had been above
the waterline and it had turned a remarkably deep blue.
This was successful run and we did not have the spotting on the wool and linen from the
leaves.
4nd Run – concentrate (Carol and Aimée)
1. Using 2 tablespoons concentrate poured 1 gallon of boiling water over it
2. Let the dye bath set for 1 hour – the liquid was a sherry color, which is the color it
should be
3. We left the concentrate in the dye bath, there is no way we could take it out, as it
had dissolved in the water..
4. During all of the following steps the dye bath was held at a constant temperature of
120F in an electric roaster.
Page 30 of 37

5. We then added 2 tablespoons of washing soda – the dye bath had to be alkaline (PH
9) – we had test strips and the Ph was proper.
7. The dye bath changed to a yellowish color. This is the color that we needed, it meant
that all of the blue color has been removed
then it won’t attach to the cloth. So we carefully added Woolite washed, thoroughly
rinsed and still wet pieces of white wool cloth to the bath. One piece had been
mordanted with a Tablespoon of salt in a cup of water.
10. We let the pieces of cloth sit in the dye batch for an hour and then took them out.
They stayed yellow, even after rinsing. We are currently testing to see if the color is
fast to sun exposure.
We did not get expect to get a blue from the concentrate, but this may be an alternative
to osage orange.
Calculations for a full run
A basic rule of thumb for a concentrated dye bath is to use equal amounts of dye
material to dye stuff. So based on that and the quantities that we had used before this is
what we came up with.
• 4 pounds of wool material + linen

• 4 pounds of woad
• 8 ounces of color remover
• 1 cup of washing soda
• 16 gallons of water
Issues we had to overcome
The 1st issue we had is what you use to put that much stuff in. The fabric had to move
freely and be totally submerged. And all of the fabric needed to be dyed at one time or
they could come out different colors. Cathy donated a huge aluminum pot, previously
used for feast cooking, to the effort. Unfortunately, dyeing cannot be done in aluminum,
as aluminum is a mordant and the color will not be true. So we started looking at
alternatives. For indigo type dyeing you can use plastic buckets. We didn’t have a plastic
bucket big enough, nor could one be obtained at short notice for a reasonable
expenditure. We had roasters that hold several gallons, but the cloth would have had to
be died in separate batches and we worried that even one 60” x 60” piece of the fabric
would not have room to move freely. In addition, once they have been used for dyeing,
it is recommended that they not be used for food again. What we finally decided to do
was use an industrial strength garbage bag inside the aluminum pot. We only had to
Page 31 of 37

keep the temperature at 120F so the bag should not melt if it was suspended in hot
water at the bottom of the pot.
The second issue was we were doing in February and you need to do this in a well-‐
ventilated area, preferably outside. We used a garage with a kerosene heater and the
garage door partially open.
The third issue is that the pot is so huge it does not fit on a portable electric burner but
we had to keep the temperature at 120 degrees in a cold garage. The weather hovered
just under the freezing point that day and it often spit snow or near-‐freezing drizzle.
The unvented kerosene heater also contributed to the bad air quality, so we had no
choice but to keep a garage door open three feet on the bottom for ventilation. We
supported the huge pot on two pieces of wood that were taller than the electric burner
and put the burner between them with the pot on top of them. With the kerosene heater
pointed at it, this did a wonderful job at keeping the temperature right at 120F.
Final Run
1. We split the 4 pounds of leaves into 6 containers

• 1 pound of leaves 4 gallons of water
• ¾ pound of leaves 3 gallons of water
• ¾ pound of leaves 3 gallons of water
• ½ pound of leaves 2 gallons of water
2. We boiled the water, added the leaves and turned off the heat. We let all of the
pots steep for 1 hour until all of the pots had a nice sherry colored liquid
3. We strained the liquid out into the garbage bag lined pot, and verified the liquid
was at 120F
4. We then added the washing soda and then color started to change a little. We
tested the PH and it was good
5. Next we added the color remover, the dye bath changed to a yellowish color, the
color we were expecting
6. We let the dye bath sit for 1 hour
7. We carefully added the 3 pieces of Woolite washed, thoroughly rinsed and still
wet hot wool to the dye bath, we pushed them down and held them down with a
butter churn swisher.
8. We let them sit for 20 minutes
9. We set up three water bath to rinse the wool in and as each piece came we
rinsed them off. They were a yellowish color. The utensils we used were
yellowish as well.
10. The cloth was not turning green or blue.
11. We hung the cloth outside to oxidize it and let it dry off. It was not turning blue.
The snow it was dripping on was turning yellow not blue.
Page 32 of 37

12. Something was drastically wrong; all of the color including the yellow was
dripping off the wool.
13. I went and got a piece of roving to try. We should have done this before putting
our production wool into the dye baths. We let that sit for 10 minutes. It did not
change color when we pulled it out.
14. We tried adding an additional cup of washing soda -‐ that didn’t work.
15. We tried adding eight more ounces of color remover -‐ that didn’t work.
16. We tried adding an additional six ounces of color remover -‐ that didn’t work.
17. We ended up dyeing the fabric with Rit indigo dye
We are not exactly sure why things did not work out. The possibilities are:
• The plastic bag had chemicals that interacted with the dye bath
• The aluminum pot could have been the problem if it leached through the plastic bag
• It could have been a combination of the above two
• Our formula could have been wrong
• Our formula may not have worked for that large of quantity
o Dried woad leaves in that quantity may contain more pigment than was able
to be removed by the quantity of color remover we had on hand or could
find in a 20 mile radius on an emergency basis.
• The liquid may have been hotter at the bottom of the pot than at the top where we
measuring it

The aluminum pot liner was sealed with the woad mixture still inside. The remaining woad
leaves had been steeping in warm water all afternoon in the expectation that the liquid
would be added to the bath after the wool was removed and before the linen was added to
increase the amount of pigment available. This pot was also sealed and set aside.

We’ll try again when the weather warms up!

Page 33 of 37

References – (all links current as of 3/4/2010)

Cultural Background –
Andrén, Anders Kristina Jennbert, Catharina Raudvere, (2006) Old Norse religion in long-term perspectives:
origins, changes, and interactions; Nordic Academic Press -‐ google book:
http://books.google.com/books?id=gjq6rvoIRpAC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA4 -‐ v=onepage&q=&f=false
Clunies Ross, Margaret (unknown) Stylistic and generic definers of the Old Norse skaldic ekphrasis;
Univerisyt of Sydney: https://www.dur.ac.uk/medieval.www/sagaconf/cluniesrossekphrasis.pdf
Davidson, Hilda Ellis (1993) The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe, Routledge books -‐ google book;
http://books.google.com/books?id=sWLVZN0H224C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s -‐
v=onepage&q=&f=false
Duczko, Wladyslaw (2004) Viking Rus: studies on the presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe Koninklijke
Brill, NV -‐ google book :
http://books.google.com/books?id=hEawXSP4AVwC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s -‐
Ettlinger, Ellen (1976) The Mythological Relief of the Oseberg Wagon Found in Southern Norway; Folklore,
Vol. 87, No. 1 (1976), pp. 81-‐88: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1259502
Gardner, Jennifer Michelle (2006) The Peaceweaver: Wealtheow in Beowulf, Western Carolina University
http://paws.wcu.edu/bgastle/students/Gardner-‐Peace-‐Weaver-‐Thesis.pdf
Herschend, Franz (2000, July) Ship grave hall passage – the Oseberg monument as compound meaning, 11th
International Saga Conference: http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/medieval/saga/pdf/142-‐herschend.pdf
Jesch, Judith (1991) Women in the Viking Age, Boydell Press -‐ google book:
http://books.google.com/books?id=9xpNRpI9zFoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s -‐
Mortensen, Lina (2004) The 'marauding pagan warrior woman" Ungendering Civilization; Routledge books -‐
google book,
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=YvRMvDrTq88C&oi=fnd&pg=PA94&dq=oseberg+leather
&ots=U1UuQ4RnD5&sig=Rumgti13_KBG88cXrXxu9hpzRQk -‐ v=onepage&q=&f=false
Musset, Lucien (2005) The Bayeux Tapestry, Boydell Press -‐ google book,
http://books.google.com/books?id=Rsu5ICgDEeIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s -‐
Clunies Ross, Margaret, Stylistic and generic definers of the Old Norse skaldic ekphrasis, University of Sydney,
https://www.dur.ac.uk/medieval.www/sagaconf/cluniesrossekphrasis.pdf
Price, Neil (2004) The Archaeology of the sei∂r: Circumpolar Traditions in Pre-Christian Religion, University of
Uppsala, http://www.brathair.com/revista/numeros/04.02.2004/archaeology_seidr.pdf
Watt, Margrethe (2004, December) The Gold-Figure Foils (“Guldgubbar”) from Uppa_kra, Continuity for
Centuries, http://www.uppakra.se/docs/uppakra10/U10_06.pdf
Valkyrie, Brittanica Concise Encyclopedia: http://www.answers.com/topic/valkyrie
Valkyrie, Wikipedia, http://www.answers.com/topic/valkyrie
Page 34 of 37

Norse Mythology, Wapedia, http://wapedia.mobi/en/Norse_mythology
Rok Runestone, Wapedia, http://wapedia.mobi/en/Rök_Runestone
The Odin Mysteries : A Mystery Cult in Pagan Scandinavia, http://theodinmysteries.com/odin/
Construction and Design:
Atte Dragon, Mistress Barbara, Viking Costume – women: http://www.thule-‐italia.net/sitoinglese/Viking

Women.pdf
Bjornsson, Viking Art: http://www.willadsenfamily.org/sca/danr_as/viking-‐art/viking_art_class.pdf
Broom, Emrys Eustace, Sherts, Trewes, & Hose .ij. : Documentable Details, GreyDragon.org:
http://www.greydragon.org/library/underwear2.html
Broomé, Susanna, 1996, Hur man klädde sig på vikingatiden: http://hem.passagen.se/susbrom/KLADER.HTM
Carlson, Jennifer L. , 2003, Sewing Stitches Used in Medieval Clothing: http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-‐
carlson/cloth/stitches.htm
Carlsson, Dan, Viking Beads from Gotland, Sweden, ArkeoDoc:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/8493824/VikingBeads
Christensen, Arne Emi, Anne Stine Ingstad, Bjørn Myhre, 1992, A new theory on the costumes of the Oseberg
Queen and her attendant With Comments, Oseberg Dronningens grav:
http://www.forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/Oseberg/dress/OSEBERG.HTM
Dankbar, Bernhard, Bernhard's Nadelbinden: http://home.arcor.de/bedankbar/index-‐eng.htm
Dragonetti, Aldiana, Näalbinding:

http://presence.havenonline.com/~havenonl/moas/northstar/vol1no3/Naalbinding web.htm
Ewing, Thor, ‘í litklæðum’ – Coloured Clothes in Medieval Scandinavian Literature and Archaeology, Durham
University: http://www.dur.ac.uk/medieval.www/sagaconf/ewing.htm
Forest, Maggie , Scandinavian Embroidery:

http://www.forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/embroidery/Scandinavian.pdf
Goslee, Sarah , A Few Medieval Braids, Stringpage:

http://www.stringpage.com/braid/medbraids/medbraids.html
Gunnvör, Viking Beads and Necklaces, Viking Answer Lady: http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/vikbeads.shtml
ingen Muiredaich, Banbhahun Temair, 2004, Finger Weaving (or "Peasant Braids"):
http://www.whitestagandfox.org/temair/handouts/Fingerweaving Handout Pennsic 2003.pdf
Ingstad, Anne Stine, The textiles in the Oseberg ship:

http://www.forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/Oseberg/textiles/TEXTILE.HTM
Jones, Heather Rose, 2004, Archaeological Sewing:

http://heatherrosejones.com/archaeologicalsewing/index.html
Page 35 of 37

Kania, Katrin, 2009, Skjoldehamn neck flap: http://togs-‐from-‐bogs.blogspot.com/2009/01/skjoldehamn-‐neck-‐
flap.html
Laning, Chris, 1997, Orchil, the poor person's purple: http://ravensgard.org/gerekr/Orchil.html
Lewins, Shelagh, 2003, The Partly-Completed Tablet Weaving from the Oseberg Ship Burial:
http://www.shelaghlewins.com/tablet_weaving/Oseberg_tablet/Oseberg_tablet.htm -‐ note4_anchor
Lewins, Shelagh, 2003, A Brocaded Band from the Oseberg Ship Burial:
http://www.shelaghlewins.com/tablet_weaving/Oseberg_brocade/Oseberg_brocade.htm
Lewins, Shelagh, 2004, Nalbinding Socks: Methods of Construction:

http://www.shelaghlewins.com/reenactment/naalbinding/sock_construction.htm
Lewins, Shelagh, 2003, A Viking Pinafore:

http://www.shelaghlewins.com/reenactment/hedeby_apron/hedeby_apron.htm
Lucas, Rebecca, 2009, May, A Tunic and Hood from Skjold Harbour, Medieval Baltic: http://www.medieval-‐
baltic.us/skjold.html
Lucas, Rebecca, Belts in Norse Female Graves, Medieval Baltic: http://www.medieval-‐baltic.us/vikbuckle.html
Pearl, et al, 2008, What is being referred to here?: http://pearl.dreamwidth.org/221627.html
Priest-‐Dorman, Carolyn, 1993, An Archaeological Guide to Viking Men's Clothing, Vassar University:
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/mensgarb.html
Priest-‐Dorman, Carolyn, 1997, Viking Tunic Construction, Vassar University:

http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/viktunic.html
Priest-‐Dorman, Carolyn, 1997, Viking Embroidery Stitches and Motifs, Vassar University:
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikembroid.html
Priest-‐Dorman, Carolyn, 2001, Nålebinding Techniques in the Viking Age, Vassar University:
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/nalebind.html
Priest-‐Dorman, Carolyn, 1999, Colors, Dyestuffs, and Mordants of the Viking Age: An Introduction, Vassar
file://localhost/University/ http/::www.cs.vassar.edu:~capriest:vikdyes.html
Raymond, Catherine, et al, 2006, Analysis of Oseberg Ship Textiles, Medieval Costuming Community:
http://slumberland.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=1256
Raymond, Catherine, et al, 2006, Apron dresses for the confused?, Medieval Costuming Community:
http://slumberland.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=1361
Raymond, Catherine, et al, 2008, New proposed Viking dress reconstruction, Medieval Costuming Community:
http://slumberland.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=2217&mode=1
Thorguds, 2009, Vowen textile Oseberg Viking grave, Samiblog:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vowen_textile_Oseberg_Viking_grave.JPG
Thunem, Hilde , Viking Women: Underdress: http://www.pvv.ntnu.no/~hmg/lrp/kostyme/viking/v-‐k-‐

underkjole.html
Ulfsdottir, Isabel, 2004, Nålbinding Socks worked in the Brodén Stitch:
http://willadsenfamily.org/sca/isabel_as/socks/broden_naalbinding_socks.pdf
Page 36 of 37

Wilson, Monica L., 2003, Basic Nålbinding part 1: Oslo Stitch (F1 UO/UOO):
http://www.dilettante.info/nalbindingpages/osloprimer/osloprimer1.htm
Zubkova,E., O. Orfinskaya, D. Likhachev, 2007, New discovery of Viking Age clothing from Pskov, Russia:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/sarafan/sarafan.htm
Viking Pants, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic:

http://www.goldenoakinn.com/pdf/viking_pants_paper.pdf
ANNEX 6 - PRACTICAL NAALBINDING The Vikings:

http://www.vikingsonline.org.uk/resources/authenticity/basickit/annex6.html
Shoes, Kynnabaria: http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/olafvanta/Dirk/shoes/dshoes.htm
"Gokstadhøvdingens Jaktransel" - The Gokstad 'Back Pack', Viking:

http://web.missouri.edu/~rls555/SCA/research/gokbkpk/gokbkpk.htm
Norse Seam Treatments: http://www.silverdor.org/viking/NorseSeamTreatments.pdf
Odin from Lejre, the Viking Rune: http://www.vikingrune.com/2009/11/odin-‐from-‐lejre/
General Viking Links Page: http://www.drakt.org/Viking.html
Page 37 of 37

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Table of Contents

Page 2 of 37

Who is this woman and what is she wearing?

7 ibid, pg 120

Where do the source images come from?

Can we know what these women wore?

12 ibid, pg 121

13 op cit, Britannica Concise Encyclopedia on-­‐line

Looking more closely at the surviving pictorial

19 Oseberg tapestry reconstruction, http://www.gelfling.dds.nl/viking women.html

Page 5 of 37

24 Picture stone from Alskog, Gotlandl http://theodinmysteries.com/odin/

29 ibid, pg 187

30 ibid, pg 196

35 Second picture from http://slumberland.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=2217

40 ibid, pg 38

41 ibid, pg 31

42 ibid, pg 50

43 Author in first version of backcloth, February 2008.

Page 9 of 37

(1976), pg 82. http://www.jstor.org.stable/1259502

Page 10 of 37

Another image of a woman who might be

The image on the right, which Ewing identifies as

The reconstruction of the outfit

48 op cit, Ewing, pg 48

49 op cit, Price, pg 20

Page 11 of 37

Page 12 of 37

55 “History of Woad;” http://www.woad.org.uk/html/europe.html

document on “dyeing.”

59 Ingstad, Anne Stein, “The textiles in the Oseberg ship”;

Page 13 of 37

Common Name: Indigo or Isatis Leaves

Page 14 of 37

Page 15 of 37

Page 16 of 37

71 Lewins, Shelagh; Nalbinding Socks: Methods of Construction; 2004,

Page 17 of 37

Page 18 of 37

Page 19 of 37

75Ibid, pg 57

76 Ancient Finnish Costume, http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/FTP_Files/Ancient_Finnish_Costumes.PDF

77 Atte Dragon, Mistress Barbara, Viking Costume-­‐ Women, http://www.thule-­‐italia.net/sitoinglese/Viking

Page 20 of 37

Braid over seams on the serk

subject) http://fingerloop.org/patterns.html -­‐ n13

Page 21 of 37

Page 22 of 37

Pleated “back cape”

84 Design suggested by Mistress Ellen Greenhand.

Page 23 of 37

Page 24 of 37

90 Purchased at Pennsic with this unwritten provenance.

Page 25 of 37

Page 26 of 37

Sprang bands may be incorporated into the hairstyle.

Page 27 of 37

By Lady Catherine of Deva

Woad Dying Process

1st Run – leaves (Carol, Grace and Cathy)

Page 28 of 37

13 op cit, Britannica Concise Encyclopedia on-‐line

77 Atte Dragon, Mistress Barbara, Viking Costume-‐ Women, http://www.thule-‐italia.net/sitoinglese/Viking

subject) http://fingerloop.org/patterns.html -‐ n13

Atte Dragon, Mistress Barbara, Viking Costume – women: http://www.thule-‐italia.net/sitoinglese/Viking

Bjornsson, Viking Art: http://www.willadsenfamily.org/sca/danr_as/viking-‐art/viking_art_class.pdf

Dankbar, Bernhard, Bernhard's Nadelbinden: http://home.arcor.de/bedankbar/index-‐eng.htm

Priest-‐Dorman, Carolyn, 1997, Viking Tunic Construction, Vassar University:

Thunem, Hilde , Viking Women: Underdress: http://www.pvv.ntnu.no/~hmg/lrp/kostyme/viking/v-‐k-‐

ANNEX 6 - PRACTICAL NAALBINDING The Vikings:

"Gokstadhøvdingens Jaktransel" - The Gokstad 'Back Pack', Viking:

Odin from Lejre, the Viking Rune: http://www.vikingrune.com/2009/11/odin-‐from-‐lejre/